The helicopter that crashed after hitting a mountain, killing General Bipin Rawat and 12 others
By Vikas Gupta
Yelahanka, Bangalore
Defence News of India, 16 Feb 23
Periodic helicopter crashes, like the one in December 2021 that killed 13 people, including the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat, are tragic reminders of the threat that obstacles in the flight path account for helicopters.
These obstacles can be hills, towers, power lines, cable cars or pylons. The likelihood of such threats occurring increases in bad weather and during low-altitude flight maneuvers.
In order to equip its helicopters with protection against such accidents, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) announced on Tuesday a collaboration agreement with the German company Hensoldt, to equip HAL helicopters with an “obstacle avoidance system” ( OAS) that would warn pilots of any obstacles in their intended flight path.
The deal, announced at the Aero India 2023 airshow, includes the transfer of intellectual property (IP) for the design and manufacture of the OAS for Indian helicopters and potential future exports.
OAS provides intelligent visual cues to pilots to reduce their workload and increase flight safety. It also increases the likelihood of mission effectiveness, especially under adverse visual conditions.
“Where human sight alone is not enough, powerful software processes and combines information from sensors and databases and presents it in visual form,” said a press release from Hensoldt.
“This collaboration between HAL Korwa and Hensoldt is the first of its kind in the Indian defense industry, with the intention of transferring ‘critical key technology’ from Germany to India. [and] give a boost to Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-governing India),” said Apurba Roy, who heads HAL’s Korwa unit, where the OAS will be built.
“Technology Transfer (ToT) including equipment IP is mainly offered for Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and should be major equipment suitable for all future upgrades/new programs of ‘helicopters… with upgrade and customization by HAL Korwa,” he said.
HAL designs and builds a range of helicopters for the Indian military and, potentially, for the civilian and export market. Besides Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), these include Rudra Armed Helicopter, Prachanda Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Multirole Helicopter (IMRH) and the light helicopter Kamov 226T. Estimates of numbers vary from 1,000 to 2,000 helicopters.
For reliable protection against flight into obstacles – the technical term is “controlled flight into terrain” (CFIT) – it is essential to detect any obstacle anywhere in the helicopter’s flight path. Considering the flight speed of the helicopter, rapid detection can only be carried out by an on-board sensor in real time.
“Hensoldt OAS equipment achieves ≥99.5% detection probability within 1st second and a detection range of over 1000 meters,” Hensoldt said.
